Dollar-only stores' closure stuns masses

HAVANA, CUBA — Cuba's dollar-only stores displayed "closed for inventory" signs Tuesday after the communist government suddenly shut them down, blaming new U.S. measures aimed at squeezing the island's economy.

Long lines stretched from state stores with food and personal hygiene products--nearly the only items still sold to Cubans in U.S. dollars--as people scrambled to buy shampoo and soap from rapidly emptying shelves.

The government did not say whether the stores would reopen. But Julio Perez, the administrator of Harris Brothers department store, said they were merely giving dollar-only stores time to mark up the prices of all their goods. "It really isn't anything serious," Perez said.

Some questioned how the closure--which prevents Cubans from spending dollars at the government stores--would counteract the U.S. proposals announced last week, which aim to reduce hard currency on the island by limiting how often Cuban-Americans can visit relatives, decreasing how much they can spend, and prohibiting money transfers to Cuban officials and Communist Party members.

"It's not helping the Cuban people, and it's not helping the Cuban government," said Carmelo Mesa-Lago, an expert on the Cuban economy at the University of Pittsburgh. "All this is bad--bad economics, bad social welfare."